Happy Labor Day, everyone!
I hope you had an awesome weekend full of hot food, cool bevs, and tons of fun in the sun. How did I spend the last weekend of the summer? Indoors, painting my kitchen.
Wah-wahhhh! ;)
I know, I know, it’s just that I’ve been talking about painting my oompah loompah orange kitchen (a present left by the previous owners) for years now, and finally decided the long weekend was the perfect time to put up or shut up, and did the damn thing – whee!
Say goodbye to pumpkin orange, and hello to April Sky (which looks semi periwinkle in the pics, but it’s actually a steely blue/green.)
The color choice was inspired by these IKEA curtains I got years ago which were supposed to inspire me to paint, well, years ago. The fun design contains waves of navy blue, brown, tan, and pale blue, which I chose to paint the walls.
I didn’t love the final paint color until we put the curtains up this afternoon – they really tied everything together!
Now when I say I spent the entire weekend painting my kitchen, I mean I spent the entire weekend painting my kitchen, starting Friday when I washed all the walls with this TSP concentrate – aka MAGIC IN A BOTTLE. It took away grease stains that I have scrubbed and scrubbed with regular cleaner in the past, in one measly swipe. Too bad you can’t clean with it regularly, as it’s only supposed to be used to prep surfaces for paint.
Looks left, looks right, sprays it liberally on the floor tiles… ;) (Just kidding.)
After everything was clean and dry, I had to tape all the trim, which took several hours. Honestly you have no idea how many corners and crevices a space has until you’re tasked with taping them!
After pulling everything away from the walls, I was ready to go. (And semi hyperventilating. I hate clutter!)
Saturday morning my Mom arrived, and we got to work, starting with a coat of primer.
Yet another reason why I love living 2 minutes away from my parents. I could have NEVER done this project without my Mom! (Ben was on a dude’s staycation this weekend!)
I was worried we’d have to do two coats of primer, since the orange was SO ORANGE, but this Zinsser primer covered it right up. Good stuff!
I could hardly contain my excitement after the orange paint was gone. The kitchen looked 5 times bigger already!
Time to get some color on the walls – a nice shade of pale, steely blue. We used Olympic paint for it’s smooth, non-chunky texture. Which is a thing, apparently, that you want to look out for when choosing paint.
This is where things went downhill pretty quickly. We got the first coat on the wall, stepped back to admire our handiwork and realized…
My kitchen was cotton candy blue! Like, baby boy’s room blue! I had picked out the April Sky paint swatch a few weeks ago but forgot the swatch, and the name, when I went to buy the paint Friday afternoon, and instead of going home and getting it, I tried to pick out what I thought was a similar shade, Ounce of Sliver. BAD CHOICE. It ended up being completely different, and looked almost neon blue on the walls!
So, Saturday afternoon I went back to Lowe’s (my third trip of the entire project) got a couple gallons of the correct color, April Sky, and re-painted the entire thing that night. Sunday morning my Mom came back over, we painted a second coat of the correct color, then touched up, cleaned up, and nearly passed out. Painting is HARD WORK!!!
But so worth it in the end. I’m still getting used to the color, but one thing I can say for sure is that the space is 100 times brighter, and much more cheery. (Plus I’m still just geeking out about those curtains. Love ’em! ;) )
Before and after!
I could never have done this without my sweet Mom. Literally I’d have half an orange kitchen, because I would have given up. Interior painting is definitely one of those things that is easier said than done!
This morning I woke up early to put the decor back on the walls, and get to everything I hadn’t done all weekend – laundry, gardening, etc., then Ben and I were going to go on a long walk. Mother Nature had other plans though. Seriously?! It had been the most gorgeous weekend ever, then when I finally get to go outside, it rains!
Several episodes of Honey Boo-Boo later (omg have you seen this?!) the rain stopped so we hopped out for a 4 mile walk in between storms. We were starving when we got back so I threw together grilled chicken with leftover mango salsa from Friday’s KCCI segment, fresh fruit, and grilled potato packs for supper!
This was just chicken brushed with extra virgin olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, then grilled and topped with Fresh Mango Salsa. Fresh, clean, and tasty.
Organic strawberries and grapes provided a sweet treat…
And grilled potato packs gave the meal some heft. I LOVE these things!
To make them, just tear a long sheet of heavy duty foil, then spray it liberally with non-stick spray. Slice a potato into 1/4″ slices, then layer them in the center of the foil. Spray with extra virgin olive oil (or dot with butter,) season (I used Lawry’s seasoning salt,) then add 1 ice cube in the center, to help steam the potatoes.
Bring the long ends together at the top then tightly roll until almost touching the potatoes. Then, tightly curl the ends in too.
Grill over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, then flip, rotate 180 degrees and grill for another 10 minutes.
Presto – grilled potatoes!
Not only are these potatoes absolutely amazing, with some crunchy, and some creamy, but cleanup’s nil. Just throw the foil away!
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Grilled Potato Packs
Description
Grilled Potato Packs are an easy side dish for any grill out!
Ingredients
- 1 medium potato
- non-stick spray
- butter or olive oil
- seasoning (I used Lawry's seasoning salt)
Directions
- Tear a long sheet of heavy duty foil, then spray one side liberally with non-stick spray. Slice potato into 1/4" slices, then layer in two rows down the center of the foil, leaving a few inches clear at both ends.
- Bring long ends of foil together at the top then curl tightly until almost touching the potatoes. Curl the ends in tightly. Grill for 20 minutes over medium-high heat, flipping and rotating the packet 180 degrees halfway through. Open very carefully, as there will be steam.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
Oofta, this was not only delicious – but filling. I am stuffed!
And oh-so tired. I have slept like a bebe the past two nights from sheer exhaustion. Who knew painting was such hard work?!
Hope you are all unwinding and ready for the short week ahead. Have a GREAT night!
Daniela 09.04.2012
Kitchen looks great and I really love all your decor – especially the knife and fork and this image naming all those herbes. I like!
melanie k 09.04.2012
wow! no offense to pumpkin but the sky blue and the ikea curtains rock! great before and after (and in between photos!) it’s awesome! a little paint can just change your life! :-) i painted one accent wall in my bedroom and all i do is stare at it now in awe. Congrats! Also, the potatoes look yum! I’ll have to try that next time my husband grills. Great portion control, otherwise we’d be cooking 5lbs of mash taters for the two of us! Love it! Thanks! MK in Wylie, Texas
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy 09.04.2012
These potatoes look great!!
We are about to start decorating the whole house, I can’t wait!
Ksenija @ Health Ninja 09.04.2012
The kitchen looks beautiful! You chose a great color and it must have been quite some work…
michdarton 09.04.2012
You have shared very important points regarding home improvement. I love to read such topics. Keep sharing such information in future as well.
Kim 09.04.2012
Those potatoes look yummy! I love grilled onions, zucchini and squash!
Lauren @ Sassy Molassy 09.03.2012
Yes, painting is so time consuming! Always helps to have a partner in crime. :)
Rachel 09.03.2012
Long time viewer here (but never commented before). I had to today though as I too just painted my kitchen this weekend while the hubby was away! I didn’t paint as much as you, although I did have to do it alone…with some coaching before from my Mom. Aren’t Moms the best?
I love your color though (just to be clear, the April sky color…. :) isn’t it nerve wracking when you paint and it looks different then the color you picked out (because it’s wet) and you try not to second guess yourself! Glad you liked the final result – and noticed the colour mistake before doing the second coat! It looks great (and a thousand times better than that orange!.
Melody Laake 09.03.2012
I own Fresh Coat Painting…next time call me. We could have painted your kitchen in a couple of hours. :)
Iowa Girl Eats 09.04.2012
I definitely will – interior painting has now been added to the list of things I will gladly pay for in the future – along with exterior painting, and moving!
Kim 09.03.2012
I love the paint color. Totally sucks that it wasn’t the right one the first time around. Blurg! Can’t wait to try the potato pack!
Rachel 09.03.2012
We are in the middle of a do it ourselves kitchen remodel. We used cabinet transformations from rustoleum and it did an amazing job. Not too expensive either. We still have to pick a color for the walls. No idea where to start with that! I also wanted to say I loved the “uff da” comment. I’m Norweigian and have gmas and gpas that still use that word.
fran 09.03.2012
Hi!
The paint color looks great! Just a suggestion – paint the cabinets white and the room will feel even brighter and modern :)
Iowa Girl Eats 09.03.2012
Thanks! I know, I’d totally love to, but just can’t justify the effort since we probably won’t be here for more than a couple more years. I am going to update all the pulls though in an aged bronze which I think is going to look awesome when all is said and done!
Meghan @ After the Ivy League 09.03.2012
I have a sweet potato ready and rarin to be sliced up for baked potato rounds, but I had no idea I could grill it instead! The kitchen makeover looks great! Painting seriously is hard work, you must be so glad it’s DONE.
Jennifer 09.03.2012
My mom has made similar potatoes for years, try sprinkling them with parmesan cheese before grilling. Yummy!!
Sonya 09.03.2012
Love the color of your new kitchen! Also love the fork and spoon deco on your wall. Where did you find them?
Shannon @ Her Dog Blog 09.03.2012
Nice! Looks great. Ain’t it funny what paint can do to a room?
Kathaleena 09.03.2012
What a great Mom and Daughter thing to do. I am a Mom with two (grown) Daughters, would totally love to help them do the something like this and cook afterwords… What fun! Love the recipes and all your ideas, keep them coming.
Best, Kathaleena (60 years young!)
Kris 09.03.2012
Well, I liked the orange (my home office has an orange wall) but the new color also looks great. Love your wall decor. Love your photos, ideas, recipes. You do such a great job with your blog, Kristin!
kim@hungryhealthygirl 09.03.2012
Painting sucks!! It always sounds like a good idea in theory, but once you get going it feels like it will never end. It was well worth it though. Your kitchen looks fantastic!!
Marcee 09.03.2012
Soooo much better! Enjoy your posts …. but this is a first-time comment (from moi) for IGE.
Very amazing how (simple) paint can make a huge/much-improved dif. Have no idea how anyone could or would use the same color paint as the cabinets. Ugh. Too awful. Makes me dizzy & confused.
Nice you have a window to look out when washing dishes!
Time to unwind. IGE = last read for the evening. Nite all.
P.S. Wish I had some of those yum taters for a snack.